Electrical connectors provide signal connections between electronic devices using electrically-conductive contacts, or electrical contacts. In some applications, an electrical connector provides a connectable interface between one or more substrates, e.g., printed circuit boards. Such an electrical connector may include a receptacle connector mounted to a first substrate and a complementary header connector mounted to a second substrate. Typically, a first plurality of electrical receptacle contacts in the receptacle connector is adapted to mate with a corresponding plurality of electrical header contacts in the header connector. For instance, the electrical receptacle contacts can receive the electrical header contacts so as to establish an electrical connection between the electrical receptacle contacts and the electrical header contacts.
When complementary electrical connectors are mated, for instance a header connector mated to a complementary receptacle connector, the electrical contacts of the respective connectors may exert forces with respect to each other. These forces can increase the magnitude of insertion force required to mate the connectors above desirable levels. For instance, when a header electrical connector having plug style electrical contacts is mated to a receptacle electrical connector having cantilevered beam electrical contacts, normal forces can be generated in the cantilevered beam contacts and applied against the corresponding plug contacts. These normal forces can result in an undesirably high level of insertion force being required to successfully mate the connectors.